On Amusing Politics, Valkyrie, and Smelly Counterfeits
I feel like I should have written about 18 years of German unification but I leave that until tomorrow. I read a lot of interesting stuff today and it somewhat fits better with what I want to cover tomorrow. BTW, this weeks BBC Odd Box is quite good as well but that's beyond the limits.
Let's start with amusing political stories. The news that Kate Moss apparently mistook Cameron for a plumber (cf. BBC article) is funny but I'm quite certain that this story is slighly skewed since it seems to be an impression Cameron had of her rather than an opinion voiced by Kate Moss herself. He quite clearly said "I think". Nevertheless, it already made international news headlines.
The next item is ironic rather than out-right funny. The European parliament's far-right bloc faces collapse after Romanian MEPs said they would quit over an Italian colleague's xenophobic remarks (cf. BBC article).
The Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty (ITS) bloc consist of far-right parties. Allegedly, Alessandra Mussolini, the grand-daughter of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, called Romanians "habitual law-breakers" and is quoted as saying that Italians saw little difference between Romanian immigrants and Roma.
Quite understandably, The Greater Romania party is upset as they themselves have been campaigning against Roma. I can see how to be accused to be the same as what you deplore yourself could be perceived to be an insult. The question is what they expected when they joined an agglomeration of politicians who hold far-right views? Moreover, I find it amusing how Italians, who aren't really perceived to be the most law-abiding people on the planet by everybody else, are now complaining about habitual law-breakers. Stereotypes work in mysterious ways...
BTW, The Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty bloc must have a great pub quiz team as they all hate each other... ;)
Since I talked a lot about the new Tom Cruise film about German resistance fighter Stauffenberg earlier this year, I thought I let people know that the first trailer of the new Tom Cruise film Valkyrie has been released. A slightly more informative Valkyrie Featurette can also be found on YouTube. If the trailer below doesn't play, you can also watch it on Yahoo Movies.
Valkyrie Trailer
Is this film going to be a kind of X-men or Superman action film set in WW2? The trailer and the overly dramatic voice-over somehow makes it look that way although I think the reference to The Usual Suspects is unintentional comic genius! I guess that's why they've all got arrested.
Futhermore, the really interesting thing is the cast beside Tom Cruise. Why are almost all the top-ranking Germans British, led by an American? No wonder they all have a British accent. Also, what are Eddie Izzard and Stephen Fry doing in this film? I have a feeling that Cruise will be outacted by the supporting cast.
Lastly, whilst pecunia non olet, counterfeits apparently do. Well, technically incorrect but two black labradors have been trained to sniff out counterfeit CDs and DVDs.
The counterfeits don't smell differently, the dogs can smell the polycarbonates in CDs and DVDs. If media items weren't declared as part of the content of a lorry, they are likely to be counterfeits. These dogs have been used so successfully that the Malayan counterfeit mafia allegedly set a price on their head.
The problem is that they have been trained by The German Federation against Copyright Theft GVU, a private organisation. A court just ruled that it is illegal for a privaye organisation to be involved in customs and excise investigations and consequently the dogs cannot be used in Germany.
Comic of the Day:
Let's start with amusing political stories. The news that Kate Moss apparently mistook Cameron for a plumber (cf. BBC article) is funny but I'm quite certain that this story is slighly skewed since it seems to be an impression Cameron had of her rather than an opinion voiced by Kate Moss herself. He quite clearly said "I think". Nevertheless, it already made international news headlines.
The next item is ironic rather than out-right funny. The European parliament's far-right bloc faces collapse after Romanian MEPs said they would quit over an Italian colleague's xenophobic remarks (cf. BBC article).
The Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty (ITS) bloc consist of far-right parties. Allegedly, Alessandra Mussolini, the grand-daughter of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, called Romanians "habitual law-breakers" and is quoted as saying that Italians saw little difference between Romanian immigrants and Roma.
Quite understandably, The Greater Romania party is upset as they themselves have been campaigning against Roma. I can see how to be accused to be the same as what you deplore yourself could be perceived to be an insult. The question is what they expected when they joined an agglomeration of politicians who hold far-right views? Moreover, I find it amusing how Italians, who aren't really perceived to be the most law-abiding people on the planet by everybody else, are now complaining about habitual law-breakers. Stereotypes work in mysterious ways...
BTW, The Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty bloc must have a great pub quiz team as they all hate each other... ;)
Since I talked a lot about the new Tom Cruise film about German resistance fighter Stauffenberg earlier this year, I thought I let people know that the first trailer of the new Tom Cruise film Valkyrie has been released. A slightly more informative Valkyrie Featurette can also be found on YouTube. If the trailer below doesn't play, you can also watch it on Yahoo Movies.
Valkyrie Trailer
Click to viewIs this film going to be a kind of X-men or Superman action film set in WW2? The trailer and the overly dramatic voice-over somehow makes it look that way although I think the reference to The Usual Suspects is unintentional comic genius! I guess that's why they've all got arrested.
Futhermore, the really interesting thing is the cast beside Tom Cruise. Why are almost all the top-ranking Germans British, led by an American? No wonder they all have a British accent. Also, what are Eddie Izzard and Stephen Fry doing in this film? I have a feeling that Cruise will be outacted by the supporting cast.
Lastly, whilst pecunia non olet, counterfeits apparently do. Well, technically incorrect but two black labradors have been trained to sniff out counterfeit CDs and DVDs.
The counterfeits don't smell differently, the dogs can smell the polycarbonates in CDs and DVDs. If media items weren't declared as part of the content of a lorry, they are likely to be counterfeits. These dogs have been used so successfully that the Malayan counterfeit mafia allegedly set a price on their head.
The problem is that they have been trained by The German Federation against Copyright Theft GVU, a private organisation. A court just ruled that it is illegal for a privaye organisation to be involved in customs and excise investigations and consequently the dogs cannot be used in Germany.
Comic of the Day: